Israel’s coalition crisis takes a sharp downturn

Flatly rejecting any compromise on the budget controversy, Kahol-Lavon threatened on Monday night to vote for an opposition bill seeking to bar Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu from the premiership over his trial for corruption. The Likud party whip Micky Zohar responded that if its partner backed this opposition bill, the government would fall and another election take place. The priority at this time is to pass the state budget as quickly as possible, he said. “That is our responsibility. But is apparently not shared by Kahol Lavan.”